Tim Reynaga Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Not exactly a ship, but... this is Pit Road’s all-metal 1/35 scale type 96 25mm single AA gun! The type 96 was the standard medium anti-aircraft gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy throughout World War II. A mediocre weapon compared to its contemporaries in other navies, it was nevertheless a mainstay of IJN antiaircraft defense, being mounted aboard practically every ship in the fleet. I’m no fan of metal kits because of the difficult clean up compared to plastic, but I couldn’t pass up this unusual subject. Cleaning the mold marks off the parts was indeed tedious, but with only 17 parts total things go fast once assembly starts! This is how things are looking after just step 1 of the instructions. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Looking good Tim, is that the 1/350 equivalent sitting beside it? Cheers, Stew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 Good eye, Stew! The 1/350 gun sure does look small, doesn't it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Gidday Tim, as you say, not exactly a ship but it was a naval weapon. I think it looks good. Can you make some in 1/600? If so I'll want about 50 please! 😁 And Stew, you have better eyes than me, I missed the 1/350 gun completely. Regards, Jeff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 After cleaning up and assembling the gun parts, the Japanese type 96 25mm single AA gun looks pretty good, except perhaps for the too-thick cast metal ring sight. I decided I could live with it. These single barrel weapons were typically bolted permanently to the gun decks of Imperial Navy ships, but sometimes they were temporarily secured via small removeable platforms such as this one on the flight deck of the carrier Junyo: These ad hoc AA defense platforms were fixed to decks with large wing nuts. With a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200 rattle-can Light Grey primer, the gun is complete and ready for paint! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 Close-up reference images of these guns are surprisingly uncommon given their ubiquitous use in the Imperial Navy. Here's one of the few closer ones, in this case a recent pic from the wreck of the destroyer Hamanami in Ormoc Bay. It is a dramatic image, but unfortunately it is not much good for reference! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 (edited) The colors for the gun are simple; Tamiya IJN Grey (Kure Arsenal) acrylic (XF-75) – slightly lightened for scale effect – for the mount, with NATO Black for the gun and clip. The only other color is the brown leather padding on the shoulder rests. I’ll probably also add a bit of gold for the brass cartridges just visible through the sides of the clip too. Edited September 17, 2019 by Tim Reynaga 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 After the acrylic base colors cured, I gave the gun and mount a very thin wash with Grumbacher Raw Umber artist’s oil. Wiping almost all of it away with a wide brush left a filter which helps to integrate the colors and also to grunge things up a bit. Once dry, the shiny wash mattes down leaving a subtle grime in the crevices on the mount. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Coming along nicely Tim Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick4350 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Looks good. I have stashed somewhere a Pitroad IJN Type 96 25mm Triple AA Gun ( G-47 ) . I wish more small naval artillery would be more readily available in 1/35 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 (edited) Thanks Stew! 5 hours ago, Mick4350 said: Looks good. I have stashed somewhere a Pitroad IJN Type 96 25mm Triple AA Gun ( G-47 ) . I wish more small naval artillery would be more readily available in 1/35 ! Mick, Pit-Road appears to be a re-imagining their 1/35 scale naval weapons kits starting with the 25mm Type 96 Triple machine gun mount issued in white metal back in the 1990s. The original metal kit wasn’t bad, but earlier this year they released an entirely new mold version in plastic that is even better. There is even a separate upgrade set available with turned brass barrels and individual cartridges as well as a photoetch brass sheet. Yum! Is this the version you have, or do you have the original release in white metal? Edited September 19, 2019 by Tim Reynaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 The portable platform that came with the kit looks cool, but I thought the display might look even better with a little section of deck below it too; Northeastern Scale Lumber 3/32 inch scored wood sheet should serve nicely. According to Janusz Skulski’s Anatomy of the Ship – The Battleship Fuso, that ship’s deck had 177mm teak wood planks (5mm wide in 1/35 scale), and his Anatomy of the Ship – The Battleship Yamato indicates that Yamato sported 127mm wide hinoki cypress wood deck planks (3.5mm wide in 1/35 scale). Although this is a bit wider than the 3mm width of the scored planks on the Northeastern sheet, there was evidently a degree of variation among ships in the Japanese Navy – so I figured there might have been some narrower planks in use as well. Anyway, the deck looks the part! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 (edited) As a final step I attached the whole to a simple display platform. The base is a re-purposed plastic piece from an old Accurate Miniatures 1/100 scale Spitfire kit. Preparation of the base was straightforward, consisting of an airbrushed coat of Tamiya Desert Yellow (XF-59) acrylic followed by an application of Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna artist’s oil paint. Applied thinned with some streakiness left in, artist’s oil over acrylic is a simple way to simulate the look of a wood base. Edited September 22, 2019 by Tim Reynaga 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Reynaga Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 And done! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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